Are groceries more expensive in Canada then in the USA?

Question

I am asking because on here alot of people are saying that they spend $75 of groceries a week for one kid and one adult! In alberta I can' do that with meat/ produce/ school snacks and all the dairy and bread and stuff. Is that the dollar differnce, or are prices higher here?

Answer 1

There are more poor people -- very poor people -- in the US than Canada. There are a lot more really dreadful food stores you probably wouldn't even want to set foot in, no matter how cheap the stuff they were selling, which you wouldn't want anyway. People in ghettos do not shop at nice clean Loblaws/Sobeys/etc. Not even Food Basics (or whatever the discount chain is in the west).

I was once shocked to see a sign advertising "CHEESE 69c/lb" in the States, not that many years ago. Huh? Cheese? What? Well, "American" cheese. Processed cheese "food" junk, sold in bulk. Yecch. Add a big box of no-name saltines for 99c, a 99c 3L bottle of no-name soda pop, and...look, lunch!

Very depressing. I think that's the reason for a lot of American obesity problems.

That said -- coupons. There're loads of them there to be cut out, and stores there will have 'double,' and even 'triple' coupon days (eg, you get two or three times the value shown on the coupon, off). Stories abound of people getting a cart worth of groceries for ten bucks via careful shopping with coupons -- rare, but possible.

But, at $75/week, it's dubious that anybody's buying "produce" and "meat." Highly processed versions thereof, sure. Or, just rather bad versions. There was a store in the US I went to in an area where a lot of people had horses, and a lot of people were poor, that sold massive bags of 'horse carrots.' Thick, deformed, woody carrots; not the sort of thing you'd leap to dip in hommus. It was a bit of a toss-up who was buying more 'horse carrots' -- the poor people, or the horse owners...

Finally, yes, in some cases, things are simply cheaper. To wit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Shaw_wine

Answer 2

For the record, Canada may be better than the US right now, BUT not by much. There is the same red tape here as in the US. The economy in Central Canada is crashing too, just like that of the US. Canada is killing insurgents (and even civilians) in Afghanistan along with the Americans and the Dutch. As it stands, I'm quite ashamed to be Canadian; that something I thought I would never say 10 years ago. Spare yourself the grief and stay in the US. Canada is just a colder and more hypocrite version of the USA.

Answer 3

As an American living in Canada, I can tell you most definitely that groceries ARE more expensive here in Canada than in the U.S.

I could feed three teens and myself for less than what it is taking to feed just my hubby and I here, for the same kinds of foods. It amazes me everytime we go to the grocery store!

In the U.S. there are a number of discount grocery suppliers, and no, they aren't awful places. You DO always have to watch what you are buying ... but labeling is different too. I am a label reader, and always make sure that what I am purchasing is the genuine thing .. like 100% juice, or real cheese (not a cheese food product). Speaking of cheese, "real" cheese is about half the price in the U.S. I have found that meats of any kind tend to be about twice as much as well in Canada.

I also found that food was more expensive in Alberta (Calgary), than it is here in Vancouver. We are close enough to the states that we go over once a month (as do many other canadians) to get items that are allowed over the border.

Answer 4

I think it really depends what you're buying, you may not be buying the same things for an adult and child as someone else... Plus, it usually sounds like things cost more in Canada because of the exchange rate... ($75 American is probably around $85 Canadian...)

Answer 5

depends where you are buying them
they vary right across the usa and Canada
generally NO

with the exchange healthy foods like fruits/veggies and fresh meat are less expensive
processed food is more expensive in Canada generally

Answer 6

it must be because a lot of Canadians come across just to buy their food and gas.

Answer 7

no but portions are about a third the size. so are people.